Hockey nutrition: 10 tips to keep you sharp

As I write this letter, you’re in the midst of your
season, but by the time you read it, many of you will have played
your last game.

Things are different in the offseason: Your training changes,
your schedule changes and the demands you put on your body change.
Your nutrition might also change, so this month’s article
focuses on some food for thought.

2. Sugar: Consuming too much sugar — the average American
consumes over 100 pounds of sugar per year! — wreaks havoc
with your energy levels and hormones. Sugar offers no nutritional
value and therefore is an ingredient to avoid as often as
possible.

3. Alcohol: Alcohol is a metabolic poison that negatively
affects all systems of the human body simultaneously.

Binge drinking results in projected losses of up to 14 days of
training effect.

5. Drugs: Recreational or performance-enhancing drugs can be
tempting to high school and college athletes, yet they are
poisonous to your brain and body and can take away all that
you’ve worked for in an instant. There are plenty of
instances where athletes have insisted that they weren’t
aware that what they took was against regulations. It is your
responsibility to be educated, to limit your risks and to safeguard
your body.

6. Sleep: Too little sleep makes it harder to concentrate, learn
and make decisions. It increases irritability and performance.
Drowsy driving can have deadly effects.

7. Excessive calorie restriction: An athlete demands so much of
his or her body. Calories provide the energy necessary to play and
perform. It all boils down to good choices and quality
calories.

9. Soda: Caffeinated or not, sugar or not, colored or not,
calories or not … doesn’t matter. Soda contains
phosphorus, which can leech calcium out of your bones. The less
calcium, the more brittle your bones, the greater the risk of
injury. Drink more water and less of everything else.

10. Negativity: Whether it is selfdoubt or negative thoughts
about a teammate or opponent, your coach’s philosophy, a
referee, playing position, team standings, playing conditions or
the weather, being negative won’t bring about positive
change. Negativity is a waste of energy that could otherwise be
used for a game-winning score.

Julie Nicoletti is a
nationally recognized sports nutritionist who specializes in
coaching student and professional athletes to optimize performance
and minimize the risk of injury through nutrition. As the founder
of Kinetic Fuel Performance Based Nutrition, Julie combines her
professional training as a registered pharmacist with her
experience as a certified sports nutritionist to customize plans
for athletes and teams enabling them to see transformative
results. Learn more at www.kineticfuel.net.